As a peace loving man, being forced to send his troops into the First World War dealt a heavy blow to King Wilhelm, a blow from which he never really recovered. In 1918, after the war was lost, he abdicated as the last German King. His resignation speech was dignified and addressed to ‘The people of Württemberg’. It was a document of his affection for his country and its people.He died on the 2nd of October 1921 in Bebenhausen, still loved and mourned by the whole country.